Intero Cool Apps

Posts Tagged ‘Intero Cool Apps’

Cool Apps: Send Out Cards and Intero Foundation Offer Easy, Unique Client Follow-Ups

By John Thompson | December 16th, 2011 0 Comments

Save time. Save money. Stay connected. Differentiate. Help at-risk kids in need in the process?

Welcome to the partnership of Send Out Cards and the Intero Foundation.

Founded in 2004, Send Out Cards has grown into the third largest online greeting card and gift company. While Hallmark still remains the leader, it does so mainly with a “bricks-and-mortar” approach. Hmmmm, I have heard this analogy before.

Send Out Cards recently added an iPhone app to its offerings, giving users the ability to send high-quality, two-panel cards immediately from their iPhones for just over a $1 (which includes First-Class postage). This is a great deal compared to cards you buy in the store.

Imagine taking a photo of a seller’s house after your first appointment, and having them receive a thank you card with a customized picture of their home on the front, sent First Class that same day with just a few clicks. You can even include your customized handwriting and signature!

Send Out Cards has also jumped on the QR code bandwagon, allowing you to send a video along with your card by simply including a QR code. This should make Mother’s Day a bit more modern – that is as long as Mom knows what to do with a QR code.

Automate mailing campaigns with a simple upload of your database, make personalized calendars/photo books/and vision boards, send postcards/tri-folds/or oversized 8.5 x 11 cards(one of my favorites that stand out in the mail), and choose from hundreds of gifts to send. The options are robust, and they have something for everyone.

The final hook? With the structure of this company and Intero’s arrangement with them, you can join at a wholesale level and Intero will pick up close to half the cost. Every time the service is used, a small portion gets donated back to the Intero Foundation. The kids win. You win.

You can try it out for free at www.sendoutcards.com/InteroFoundation, or contact our representative, Kim Hunter at (650) 948-1610 or khunter@factpoint.com.

Cool Apps: Share Your To-Do List and Get Things Done

By John Thompson | November 18th, 2011 0 Comments

To-do list apps are a dime a dozen in the Android and iTunes app stores – but I’ve discovered one that has a particular great use in real estate transactions: Any.DO.

Any.DO currently is available only for Android devices, but will soon be available for iPhone and as a Web app. What makes it unique is that it takes the to-do list and makes it social. Why would you want to share your to-do list? Because in a real estate transaction, we all must do our part to ensure things get done on time.

Many agents may already be using a transaction management system, which can offer similar features to Any.DO. But Any.DO is great at just being a social to-do list – no more, no less. It’s not meant to manage the entire transaction (and frankly, shouldn’t be used like that). That is its beauty. Life is a series of tasks, and this helps you cross them off your list each day.

Any.DO could work well for keeping clients on task in what they need to do, and it could also work well for agent teams who split the work on several different transactions. Teams can enjoy a simple way to divide and conquer, and always know what’s been done, and what’s pending.

Cool features:

Type or use voice recognition to dictate your tasks into Any.DO
Drag and drop tasks right into your agenda
Organize tasks by date, folder or priority
Sync with Google to see all of your tasks in email
See to-do’s right from your home screen
Set reminders
Share to-do’s with clients, colleagues and vendors
Get notified when shared tasks are updated

Any.DO is easy to use and simple because it lives right on your phone, but also syncs to your inbox if you’re using Gmail. There’s never an excuse for not getting things done anymore when it’s all right there in your pocket – and sending you reminders of what’s due.

Any.DO is available for free in the Android App Store.

Cool Apps: Google+ Rolls Out Pages for Businesses

By John Thompson | November 11th, 2011 0 Comments

The long-awaited “business” version of Google+ is now here! Google launched “Pages” for Google+ this week to extend the connections we make on the company’s social network beyond people to now places and also things.

I know what you’re thinking: Gee, I already have a blog, a Twitter handle, a Facebook profile and a Facebook page for my business. Do I really need yet another page for my business to plug into yet another social network?

It’s a fair question.

It’s worth pursuing a new page on Google+ for your real estate business because:

This is Google we’re talking about, a 500-pound gorilla when it comes to the web. Google has shown this year that it’s pretty serious about social networking and seems to be determined to invest heavily in Google+ to keep it relevant, innovative and essential to the social web experience of the future.
Google also announced “Direct Connect” from Google search as part of the unveiling. That means that Pages in Google+ will now be found in Google search results, allowing people to connect directly to businesses.
Google is a beast when it comes to search. The majority of the world now searches on Google, which means you want to be there to be seen by folks seeking out the services you offer. Some say the business opportunity is far greater here than with Facebook because people searching on Google are in the frame of mind to research and buy things or services. People on Facebook, on the other hand, tend to be there to socialize with other people, which is a totally different motivation and much harder to connect to from a business perspective.

Convinced? Google has a page set up for creating Pages at https://plus.google.com/pages/create. If you don’t already have a Google account, you’ll have to set one up first. The page will then walk you through the process of locating your business and building its page.

For a little inspiration, check out these pages that are already up and running:

The Phoenix Suns
Burberry
Toyota

Google+ Pages presents a great opportunity to connect with consumers who are searching for real estate information in your neighborhood online.

Cool Apps: Manage All Your Cloud Storage Accounts in One Place

By John Thompson | November 4th, 2011 0 Comments

Cloud storage is probably the most amazing technological advancement since the smartphone. It enables mobile professionals like real estate agents to ensure anytime anywhere access to important files, which makes the fire drill situations that can come up a lot easier to handle. But, if you’re like me and using a few different cloud storage options, you may actually have created a layer of complication that no longer needs to be there.

This is where Joukuu comes in. Joukuu now has a web app for accessing multiple cloud storage accounts all in one place. That means that you’ll be able to manage files you have stored in Google Docs, Box.net and Dropbox in one place rather than having to chase things down under each account. (The service also has plans to support Sugarsync, Huddle and Skydrive in the near future.)

Not only does Joukuu offer easy management for yourself, but it also encourages more cloud storage collaboration among colleagues and clients because now you can use whatever system you or they prefer and still have the convenience of managing it in one spot with all your other files.

Joukuu currently offers its web app and basic Windows desktop app for free, but also has a more sophisticated version for $59.99 that enables more folder management and an unlimited number of accounts. The catch is that to be able to use it with multiple accounts (which is the whole point!), you can first try a free 14-day trial, but eventually would have to pay to upgrade.

To use Joukuu, just visit the website and join or download to get started. I suggest trying the free web version first to give it a test drive. Once you’ve got an account set up, you’ll need to grant access to all of your cloud storage accounts. Then you’ll be able to search, share files and edit them across your various accounts right from the app.

If you’re not a cloud storage super-user, then Joukuu is not going to be worth your time or money. But if you find that you’ve got files scattered across Google Docs and a few other major services, then it’s worth checking out the free trial to see whether Joukuu can help you add some order and (even more) convenience to your cloud storage.

Cool Apps: Meet Your Hands-Free Virtual Assistant, Vlingo

By John Thompson | October 21st, 2011 0 Comments

Because agents spend a lot of time behind the wheel, and because agents are super busy human beings, a personal voice-controlled virtual assistant would likely be a miracle to many agent ears. For new iPhone 4S users, there is of course the anticipated new Siri app. But don’t fret, Android and Blackberry users – you also have similar options.

The most notable option is Vlingo, a free virtual assistant app that can send SMS messages and emails, make phone calls, surf the web, find local businesses, and launch applications – all using natural language.

Vlingo’s speech recognition is quite good, rarely mistaking contact names or commands. The main point of this app is hands-free living, which translates to more productive car rides that are less life threatening. The practical scenarios:

Safe texting while driving. Instead of risking an accident to get your message out with your thumbs, you can concentrate on the road and dictate your message to Vlingo.
Find directions while driving. OK, so you probably have a GPS, but for the small percentage of agents who don’t, this is a handy time-saver as you can get directions without having to pull over and type it into your phone.
In a rush to an appointment, but want to get a message out to a client? Hit the road and dictate it to Vlingo as you’re on your way.
Let people know you’re running late without texting while driving or wasting time on the side of the road calling or texting them.

What Vlingo does not do, though, is command within applications that aren’t voice-control enabled. In other words, you can launch a specialized app, but wouldn’t be able to control it using Vlingo. This isn’t that big of a deal breaker, though, considering that most of the hands-free commands you’d need to perform would be messaging, calling, or surfing the web in some way – and all of these are covered by Vlingo.

Vlingo is available for iPhone, Blackberry and Android. To get started, go to http://www.vlingo.com/download and choose your provider.

Cool Apps: Lemon Organizes Your Expenses In the Palm of Your Hand

By John Thompson | October 14th, 2011 0 Comments

As independent contractors, real estate agents know all too well the importance of tracking business expenses. So if you’re the type who shows up at your tax preparer’s office every April 14 with a shoebox full of receipts, then you should try Lemon, a free mobile app that can track your receipts and expenses on the fly.

Yep, say goodbye to rumpled pieces of paper. Better yet, say goodbye to that ugly feeling of knowing you forgot to keep your receipts and track them. Lemon is available for iPhone and Android users and has the potential to remove a lot of that tax time stress when trying to go through expenses.

How it works:

Snap a photo of your receipts using your smartphone’s camera, or email your online receipts to your @lemon email account.
Lemon organizes and stores your receipts online, so you’ll never lose access to them.
Tag and search your receipts online using your Lemon account.
Never lose or forget a receipt again!

Besides regaining some sanity over out-of-control accounting, Lemon provides the following benefits:

No more scrambling to find receipts and organize business expenses.
Simple interface: Some other apps will take your expense tracking even further, but Lemon’s simplicity means you’re more likely to use it regularly.
Lemon creates graphs to show you where your money goes (something we may not want to admit we don’t know much about, but we’re human after all).
Give merchants your @lemon email address and Lemon will prioritize what needs your attention (meaning you can count on less spam from these merchants because you won’t have to deal with it).

Sounds awesome, right? Now, if only it cooked and folded laundry.

Download Lemon in the iTunes or Android app store.

Good news! If you like the sound of this app, but aren’t using an Android device or iPhone, Lemon’s creators say they’re working on a version for Blackberry and Windows phones.

Cool Apps: See Who You May Be Missing on Twitter

By John Thompson | September 16th, 2011 0 Comments

Do you often feel like you only see the same 12 or 15 people on Twitter, and never hear from the ones you really want to hear from – the visionaries you follow who are the whole reason you even read Twitter?

Enter Shuu.sh, a fun prototype app that sifts through your Twitter feed and amplifies tweets from the people who tweet less frequently and scales back those from folks who tweet incessantly.

Why does this matter? Because like any other shiny tool out there, Twitter needs some managing to be used wisely for business so that it doesn’t become just another time suck that returns paltry results. A lot of apps out there can help you use Twitter as a content creator/sharer – which is also important for your business. But, Shuu.sh is different in that it could help you better use Twitter as a content consumer, which is important too. None of us has unlimited hours in the day, and yet it’s more important than ever to know what’s going on in the world, what’s going on in business, and what’s being talked about in real estate.

How does Shuu.sh work? Go to the app’s website, http://shuu.sh and log in using your Twitter credentials. Once you’re in, you’ll be prompted to “flick the switch” to see Shuu.sh at work. You’ll immediately notice that some tweets are now displayed in larger fonts, while others are in near-microscopic fonts. As you scroll over people’s icons, you’ll also see a number, which is their “Shuush level.” The lower the Shuush level, the larger the font. You now have a new lens into your Twitter stream.

Keep in mind that Shuu.sh is a prototype app, which means it’s basically just an idea that’s been worked into a little piece of technology. It could be gone tomorrow, or it could be rolled in with other functionality and launched. Better to check it out sooner than later if you’re curious about who you may be missing on Twitter.

Cool Apps: Get Through the Day Without Your Phone – Really?

By John Thompson | August 5th, 2011 0 Comments

Android users: You are growing, and like all other real estate business folks on the planet, you too are addicted to your smartphones. That’s why I thought this week’s app could come in handy for you. Forgot your Android phone at home or the office? Don’t turn the car around, or worse, write off your entire day’s productivity just yet.

Try LookMobile, a free Android app that enables you to access certain basic functions on your phone like text messages and contacts so you don’t have to feel totally cut off from the world or go completely out of your way to retrieve it on a busy day.

LookMobile is available for download at the Android Market. One thing to note is that it does require you to log in using your Facebook account, rather than creating a separate account. Some of you may not like this forced connection, but it does mean one less login and password to keep track of. The developer’s website says that this is a verification process to know that you – the person accessing the phone’s data – are in fact the owner of the phone.

Once you’ve downloaded the app and register your phone, you can log in at LookMobileOn.net and access LookMobile’s three main features: text messages, call log, and your contacts.

Text: You can read and reply to all SMS text messages your phone has received.

Call log: You can see all your recent calls as well as the phone number they came from so you can call them back while on hiatus from your actual device for the day.

Contacts: Access your phone’s entire list of contacts.

LookMobile’s features are pretty amazing when you think about the gigantic inconvenience leaving your phone behind can pose for your busy professional life. But, as tech reviewers have already pointed out, there is a privacy consideration before using the app since you essentially are giving the app’s developers access to your phone’s data.

Do the site operators see your messages?

On its FAQ page, the company says no.

Are your messages stored?

The company says no (unless you want them to be stored, which they also say is an upcoming feature).

Cool Apps: Never Miss a Crucial Follow-Up with FollowUp.cc

By John Thompson | July 22nd, 2011 2 Comments

Many times in real estate sales, your livelihood depends on the follow-up. How many times have you witnessed a deal that never would’ve closed had you not followed up like an obsessed maniac? That’s just the reality of working with transactions that involve so many hands, and so many signatures.

But why risk missing that crucial follow-up that keeps your transactions moving? Persistence is an extremely powerful tool that makes things happen amazingly for your clients. And now you can trigger those follow-ups with a simple Gmail plug-in called FollowUp.cc.

Sweet, how does it work?

Visit FollowUp.cc’s website and sign up for the plugin. Once it’s all hooked up (really, there’s no wizardry beyond providing your email address, password and agreeing to a few things), the plug-in allows you to add a specific email address to an email’s CC field to determine how long to wait to send a follow-up email to anyone who is copied on the email. How does that work? Well, if you want a follow-up on July 30, you’d create an address jul30@followup.cc. If you wanted a follow-up in one week, you’d create 1w@followup.cc. The app creator provides a complete list of examples here.

FollowUp.cc also integrates with Google calendars and Salesforce for even more follow-up madness.

What’s it cost?

You can sign up for the free option, which allows you to schedule 25 follow-up reminders per month. Paid versions range from $5 per month for 100 reminders to $15 per month for 1,000 reminders.

Don’t use Gmail? Unfortunately, this week’s Cool App only works for Gmail or Google Apps users. Sorry folks. I did write about an alternative app called Boomerang that offers similar functionality back in December. Boomerang works with Gmail or Outlook. Check out that Cool Apps article here.

Posts Tagged ‘Intero Cool Apps’

Cool Apps: Send Out Cards and Intero Foundation Offer Easy, Unique Client Follow-Ups

Cool Apps: Google+ Rolls Out Pages for Businesses

Cool Apps: Meet Your Hands-Free Virtual Assistant, Vlingo

Cool Apps: Lemon Organizes Your Expenses In the Palm of Your Hand

Cool Apps: See Who You May Be Missing on Twitter

Cool Apps: Get Through the Day Without Your Phone – Really?

Cool Apps: Never Miss a Crucial Follow-Up with FollowUp.cc

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